- Cruisers on a luxury cruise to Antarctica had the Antarctica leg of their cruise cancelled due to engine failures
- Many passengers onboard were unhappy with the compensation offer
- Some passengers even began a hunger strike – as their method of demanding a refund
A Swan Hellenic cruise aboard SH Diana was scheduled for Antarctica but following port cancellations, has gone viral due to a hunger-strike by Russian passengers onboard.
The 20-night cruise which cost around between $13,600and $19,500 had to cancel its scheduled Antartica port stops due to engine failure. The ship was due to spend four-days of its 21 total days in Antarctica, visiting attractions like Yankee Harbour, Deception Island, Brown Bluff and more.
After the stops were cancelled, Swan Hellenic offered a 50% refund or 65% future cruise credit, however, not all passengers were happy with this offer.
A small group of Russian passengers even began staging a hunger-strike, imposing the conditions that they would refuse to eat until they were given a full refund.
The Times was shown a letter written by some passengers onboard: “Understandably, we are unhappy and disappointed that this journey has [been] cut short under these circumstances.
“For a majority of us, this is our first time visiting Antarctica, and potentially the last opportunity for many. Some guests are elderly, disabled, and have struggled already to get to this point, only for the trip to be cut short. For many of us, visiting Antarctica is a life-long bucket list that we want to achieve before death or disability.”
Andrea Zito the CEO of Swan Hellenic says the compensation offered was “significantly higher than the legal requirement of approximately 30 per cent.”
“Many of the obviously very disappointed passengers accepted [our] offer and some have already rebooked.
“As expected, not all of the guests were immediately satisfied with this compensation and have tried to build up pressure through discussions on board and by making demands on the captain and senior staff in order to obtain an even higher compensation for themselves.
“The initial unease has largely subsided. A select few chose to stage a hunger strike in their protest which is of rather counterproductive. We are working towards a swift end to this action.”
Zito also said: “Swan Hellenic would like to reiterate that we deeply regret that we had to change the itinerary due to the technical problems with the propeller drive and we understand the disappointment of our guests who were looking forward to a taste of Antarctic experience.
“We feel we have offered a very generous compensation package, beyond what is legally required.”
Is the hunger strike still going?
The latest update onboard came from Mark Stratton, writing for The Telegraph, at this time, he states that there is still one Russian woman continuing with the hunger strikes.
Stratton also reported that there are guests who are wearing cardboard placards stuck to the clothing that read “100 per cent refund now.”
Despite this Stratton claims the ship is generally peaceful and free of conflict, but does report details of one tension-filled meeting.
“Three Russian guests began a hunger strike on Deck 4 outside the dining room. Swaddled in blankets, they bore placards calling for a 100 per cent refund of the voyage.
“At the same time, a letter was handed to the ship’s expedition leader from a group of Chinese guests calling for a 100 per cent refund, and also a free cruise. This was presented during a lively meeting where grievances were aired to the ship’s captain and expedition leader – who is in charge of the day-to-day passenger operations.
“The meeting certainly became heated, with tensions boiling over for those who felt they were not being sufficiently refunded, despite having had two weeks at sea.
“But several days on, life is now relatively calm onboard, albeit with a frisson of lingering tension. This morning there was just one Russian female continuing the hunger strike, and a few of the Chinese guests are wearing cardboard placards pinned to their clothing reading “100 per cent refund now”. Mostly, however, passengers are trying to enjoy the last few remaining days at sea.”
